Gaither Vocal Band
|current_members = Bill Gaither David Phelps Wes Hampton Adam Crabb Todd Suttles }} The Gaither Vocal Band is an American southern gospel vocal group, named after its founder and leader Bill Gaither. As of September 2016, it consists of David Phelps, Wes Hampton, Adam Crabb, Todd Suttles, and Bill Gaither. Although the group started out recording contemporary Christian music in the 1980s, it became known for southern gospel after the popularity of the Gaither Homecoming videos. The lineup of the band changes often, with artists leaving to work on solo careers, and new ones coming to replace them. Besides Bill Gaither, singers with the longest tenure in the band include Guy Penrod (1995–2008), Mark Lowry (1988–2001, 2009–13), Michael English (1985–94, 2009–13), David Phelps (1997-2005, 2009–) and Wes Hampton (2005–). The band has released 29 albums (not including compilations), at least 19 of which have charted. The band has also released 10 DVDs, which feature many other Christian artists as well. The Gaither Vocal Band has been honored with 2 Grammys, and 17 Dove Awards. History Beginnings The Gaither Vocal Band is named after gospel legend and leader, Bill Gaither. It was the successor-group of the Bill Gaither Trio. By the 1980s, Bill Gaither, along with wife Gloria Gaither, were both very successful songwriters. For example, their song, "He Touched Me" was covered by Elvis Presley, after which he even named his album He Touched Me. Presley won a Grammy for the album. Bill Gaither felt that his trio had reached its peak in the mid-1980s, but his desire to make another gospel hit kept the trio going. The original Vocal Band (called the New Gaither Vocal Band) was formed spontaneously, backstage of a Gaither Trio concert. It consisted of Bill Gaither and Gary McSpadden of the trio, along with two of the trio's backup singers, Steve Green and Lee Young. The quartet sang "Your First Day in Heaven" on stage that night. Their debut album, the self-titled The New Gaither Vocal Band, debuted in 1981. According to the liner notes of the CD compilation, The Best of the GVB, the term "Vocal Band" was used instead of "quartet" because it did not limit Gaither in terms of sound or number of group members. According to Steve Green on the Gaither Vocal Band Reunion video, he came up with the name and convinced Gaither to use it because he, at the time, did not want to be associated with "quartet music". Lee Young left the group in 1982, and Jon Mohr was hired as the new bass singer. They then recorded the album, Passin' The Faith Along. Later, tenor Steve Green left and Larnelle Harris was hired. This group cut the New Point Of View album before Mohr left. Widespread popularity Michael English was hired as the new lead singer, so McSpadden was moved down to baritone, and Gaither dropped to the lowest part. At this point the group dropped the "new" part of their name. Although the previous album (New Point of View) had been more contemporary than its predecessors, the album with this version of the group (One X 1) took it even further. After this album, Larnelle left and was replaced by Lemuel Miller. The group did not record an album with Lemuel before he too left. He was replaced by Imperials alumnus, Jim Murray. This line up cut one album (Wings) before Gary McSpadden left to start his solo career. Mark Lowry was convinced to replace him. Along with a great voice, Lowry added comedy to the mix. Their Gospel roots project Homecoming in 1991, caused most Southern Gospel fans to welcome the Vocal Band with open arms. Jim Murray left and was replaced by Terry Franklin. The album Southern Classics was released in 1993 with the hit I Bowed On My Knees. Later Michael English left. He was replaced by Buddy Mullins. Mullins was only a temporary fill-in, but he was included on the album Testify. Terry Franklin soon left and was replaced by yet another Imperials alumnus, Jonathan Pierce (formerly known as Jonathan Hildreth, his first and last name—then changed to his first and middle name). Strengthened by the popularity of the Homecoming video series, the Vocal Band added Guy Penrod at lead. After Pierce's departure, Gaither hired David Phelps at tenor. After Lowry's departure, Imperials alumnus Russ Taff sang baritone for a couple of years. Marshall Hall was his replacement. Wes Hampton succeeded Phelps in 2005. The group has had two number one songs on the Singing News chart. "Yes, I Know" held the top position from July to October 1997, as did "I Will Go On" in November 2006. The group has routinely performs classic Southern Gospel songs including many written by Bill and Gloria Gaither like "He Touched Me", "I Believe In A Hill Called Mount Calvary", and "Sinner Saved By Grace." Reunion In July 2008, the vocal band recorded a reunion DVD at the Gaither Studios—''The Gaither Vocal Band Reunion, Volumes 1 and 2''. Except for Jonathan Pierce, Terry Franklin, and Lemuel Miller, the rest of the former and present members appear and perform. The two CDs debuted in the top two positions on Billboard’s Contemporary Christian Album chart, marking not only the Gaither Vocal Band's first No. 1 on the Christian Album chart, but also their first No. 1 debut on that chart as well. The DVDs of the same title debuted in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions on the Music Video charts as well. The quintet In January 2009, Marshall Hall and Guy Penrod left. Gaither brought back some former members: Michael English as lead vocal, Mark Lowry as baritone and David Phelps as first tenor. The first album by this five-member version was Reunited, released in September 2009. It was also the first album of the vocal band ever to feature only songs written by Bill and Gloria Gaither. A live album called Better Day was released in January 2010. In August 2010, they released the long-awaited album called Greatly Blessed, followed by I Am A Promise, a children's album, released in August 2011. Their most recent album is Pure & Simple, released in September 2012. In October 2013, it was announced that Mark Lowry and Michael English would be leaving the group to devote more time to their solo careers. English's departure was immediate whereas Lowry stayed on through the end of 2013. Their last album as members, Hymns, was released in March 2014 http://store.gaither.com/gvb-hymns-cd.html and was nominated for a Grammy Award the following December. After their departure, several guests filled-in until two new members could be found. In January 2014, it was announced that Adam Crabb (of The Crabb Family) would join the group as the fourth member and lead singer. Todd Suttles joined the group as the baritone singer one month later. Following their formation, the new quintet would go on to release a limited edition album, "The New Edition", which could only be purchased at concert performances. In October 2014, the group released their first album together entitled "Sometimes it Takes a Mountain". Five months later, that album was followed by a two DVD live performance release and the release of their second album (a live performance album) "Happy Rhythm". Upon release, the DVD's debuted on top of Billboard's Music Video chart ("Sometimes it Takes a Mountain at #1 and Happy Rhythm at #2). In August 2016, the group's album Better Together was released. Members (past and present) Line-ups Timeline ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:18 PlotArea = left:90 bottom:77 top:0 right:0 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1980 till:30/10/2016 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:tenor1 value:green legend:First_Tenor id:lead value:red legend:Lead id:barit value:purple legend:Baritone id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:tenor2 value:yellow legend:Second_Tenor id:album value:gray(0.5) legend:Albums id:scale value:rgb(0.777,0.777,1) Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:1980 # gridcolor:scale LineData = width:1 at:01/07/1981 color:album layer:back # The New Gaither Vocal Band at:01/07/1982 color:album layer:back # Passin' the Faith Along at:01/07/1984 color:album layer:back # A New Point of View at:01/07/1986 color:album layer:back # One X-1 at:01/07/1988 color:album layer:back # Wings at:01/07/1990 color:album layer:back # A Few Good Men at:01/07/1991 color:album layer:back # Homecoming at:01/07/1993 color:album layer:back # Peace of the Rock at:01/07/1993 color:album layer:back # Southern Classics at:01/07/1994 color:album layer:back # Testify at:01/07/1995 color:album layer:back # Southern Classics, Vol. 2 at:09/09/1997 color:album layer:back # Lovin' God & Lovin' Each Other at:01/07/1998 color:album layer:back # Still The Greatest Story Ever Told at:18/05/1999 color:album layer:back # God Is Good at:24/10/2000 color:album layer:back # I Do Believe at:13/08/2002 color:album layer:back # Everything Good at:30/09/2003 color:album layer:back # A Capella at:21/09/2004 color:album layer:back # The Best of the GVB at:24/01/2006 color:album layer:back # Give It Away at:15/04/2008 color:album layer:back # Lovin' Life at:30/09/2008 color:album layer:back # Christmas Gaither Vocal Band Style at:08/09/2009 color:album layer:back # Reunited at:01/07/2010 color:album layer:back # Better Day at:10/08/2010 color:album layer:back # Greatly Blessed at:09/08/2011 color:album layer:back # I Am A Promise at:11/09/2012 color:album layer:back # Pure and Simple at:04/03/2014 color:album layer:back # Hymns at:14/10/2014 color:album layer:back # Sometimes it Takes a Mountain at:17/03/2015 color:album layer:back # Happy Rhythm at: 09/10/2015 color:album layer:back # Christmas Collection TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy PlotData = textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(3,-5) width:15 bar:B.Gaither from:01/01/1980 till:01/07/1985 color:barit bar:B.Gaither from:01/07/1985 till:end color:bass bar:S.Green from:01/01/1980 till:01/07/1983 color:tenor1 bar:G.McSpadden from:01/01/1980 till:01/07/1985 color:lead bar:G.McSpadden from:01/07/1985 till:01/07/1988 color:barit bar:L.Young from:01/01/1980 till:01/07/1982 color:bass bar:J.Mohr from:01/07/1982 till:01/07/1985 color:bass bar:L.Harris from:01/07/1983 till:01/04/1987 color:tenor1 bar:M.English from:01/07/1985 till:01/04/1994 color:lead bar:M.English from:01/07/2009 till:29/09/2013 color:lead bar:L.Miller from:01/04/1987 till:01/08/1987 color:tenor1 bar:J.Murray from:01/08/1987 till:01/07/1992 color:tenor1 bar:M.Lowry from:01/07/1988 till:01/07/2001 color:barit bar:M.Lowry from:01/07/2009 till:31/12/2013 color:barit bar:T.Franklin from:01/07/1992 till:01/07/1994 color:tenor1 bar:J.Pierce from:01/07/1994 till:01/07/1997 color:tenor1 bar:B.Mullins from:01/04/1994 till:01/08/1995 color:lead bar:G.Penrod from:01/08/1995 till:31/12/2008 color:lead bar:D.Phelps from:01/07/1997 till:01/07/2005 color:tenor1 bar:D.Phelps from:01/07/2009 till:end color:tenor1 bar:R.Taff from:01/07/2001 till:01/07/2004 color:barit bar:M.Hall from:01/07/2004 till:01/07/2009 color:barit bar:W.Hampton from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2009 color:tenor1 bar:W.Hampton from:01/07/2009 till:end color:tenor2 bar:A.Crabb from:10/01/2014 till:end color:lead bar:T.Suttles from:18/02/2014 till:end color:barit Discography Awards and nominations Grammy Awards GMA Dove Awards References External links *Gaither Vocal Band on Gaither Music site Category:American Christian musical groups Category:Southern gospel performers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Musical groups established in 1981